Abdullah: Limit Terms Of Office Bearers

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi delivering his keynote address at the 59th Umno general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi came up with two radical proposals yesterday for Umno to adopt in its agenda for change -- limit the number of terms of its office-bearers and a one-man-one-vote system in the election process.

The prime minister, in his keynote address at the 59th Umno general assembly, spoke extensively on the shortcomings of the party he had been a member of for 45 years, and reinforced the reform mantra that has emerged over the past year.

"We must heed the alarm bells that have rung so loudly, demanding us to ask 'what went wrong' or 'why and how did we go wrong'.

"My spontaneous response to that question is we failed to manage our own success. We were intoxicated by our achievements and we became complacent. We believed that we had become all-powerful. We have put our own positions within the party first, instead of being concerned over Umno's position in the eyes of our citizens and the nation," he said.

It was Abdullah's last keynote address at the assembly as party president before he hands over the reins to Datuk Seri Najib Razak who, through an agreed succession timetable, had been elected unopposed after the preliminary stages of the intricate Umno election process.
"Perhaps, the party needs a mechanism that provides members with greater say and for us to shed the practices that do not allow those without positions or material wealth to be fairly treated. Perhaps the time has also come for Umno to consider setting a maximum number of terms for those holding office.

"Perhaps Umno should also give every member the right to vote to choose their leaders, especially for key party positions, to overcome and eradicate the problem of money politics," he proposed.

Umno now elects its office-bearers through a voting process that involve only delegates selected from the grassroots. The election for key positions, for instance, are determined by only about 2,500 of the three million members.

The party constitution also does not place restrictions on the number of terms each person can hold office.

Abdullah, who will turn 70 later this year, ran through the various achievements of Umno since the independence but lamented the decline, citing as a grim reminder the results of the general election last year, where Umno and its Barisan Nasional partners lost ground.

Umno's glory has dimmed so much, he noted, that it was now everybody's favourite whipping boy.

And he asked: "Umno is facing a test of credibility. Why are we suffering this fate, blamed to this terrible extent? Why are we now seen to be completely without virtue? There are a number of internal factors which have led to this erosion of public trust in Umno.

"First, longevity in power has led to complacency, and a number of leaders are increasingly out of touch with the ordinary people who have been the source of Umno's strength for so long.

"Second, relative neglect of the rural community in our desire and intent to achieve developed nation status.

"Third, ineffectiveness of Umno political programmes in reaching out to the younger generation, apart from what is already being implemented by various governmental institutions.

"Fourth, prolonged conflict among ourselves, especially while competing for positions within the party, has eroded the spirit of fraternity among party members.

"Fifth, materialism has seeped into the party, making a number of party members greedy and avaricious, hence creating the negative perception that Umno is a corrupt party."NST